The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording and reproducing digital signals on and from a magnetic tape by using a rotary head; and, MORE particularly, the invention relates to a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus having a plurality of modes matched to transmission rates of digital signals.
The present applicant has proposed, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 8-180580, a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus which is compatable with a conventional analog recording VTR and which also provides a plurality of recording/reproducing modes matched to the transmission rates of digital signals.
This magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is characterized by recording/reproducing digital signals by using first and second magnetic heads opposed to each other by 180.degree. in a standard recording/reproducing mode; by using the first magnetic head and a third magnetic head disposed in proximity thereto in a long-time recording/reproducing mode which is twice as long as the standard recording/reproducing mode; and by using fourth and fifth magnetic heads opposed to each other by 180.degree. in addition to the second and third magnetic heads in a high rate recording/reproducing mode adapted to high-definition television (HDTV) signals and the like.